A Momentary Lapse of Security
by TalionStormcrow
Summary: A couple months after our trio returned Pinky to the humans, the herd finds themselves exhausted after a day of long walking. During the night, Diego finds himself to be the unwilling victim of a horrifying nightmare, bringing about the sabers first moment of weakness. Luckily he's surrounded by his newfound friends who attempt to make him talk about it..


**Hey guys! This was an idea that had been stuck in my head for a bit. Enjoy!**

It had been a few months past since their adventure involving Pinky back at Glacier Pass and the incident with the pack at Half Peak. Now they were a herd, "The strangest herd ever seen" as Sid had put it. After Diego had come back they decided to head out, and several miles of silent walking had done a definite number on the trio. After searching for hours for a place to camp, Manny had spotted a site by a rock wall. It was there that Sid had started his search for just the right kind of rock among the jutting heap by a thick forest of towering pines to the east.

"Got it!" Sid exclaimed excitedly as he struck two rocks together, igniting a small pile of sticks in the middle of them. Manny smiled slightly at the sight of the fire, humored by how well the sloth had gotten at making them. True, it was by mistake that he had made the first one, but he learned pretty quick... A skill much needed during the migration.

Diego limped his way over by the fire, the still crimson marks from his encounter with Soto displayed along his flank glowed in a bright red hue from the flames. He sighed, stretching out his legs from the days tiring walk. Halfway through it Manny and him had taken turns carrying Sid, a trying activity that doubled him out on the exhaustion.

"Good job, Sid." He praised with a lazy yet sincere monotone. Over the course of the migration Diego had actually made a promise to himself that he would try to warm up to his newfound friends.

Of course..

"Are you mocking me?" Sid asked half accusingly.

"Shut up, Sid."

It's still a work in progress.

But overall things were good. Diego had a new life, a _better_ life. No more need for a strict hierarchy to dominate his life, constantly fighting for dominance and lashes for any mistakes he made. It was an easier, more laid back kind of life. He could finally relax and take it all in.

No pressure, and the lack of tenseness was a good change as well.

Diego's leg twitched, causing him to wince the tiniest bit. He scanned his friends faces, looking to see if they had noticed.

Nope, tragedy averted.

"Aahh.. This is the life." Sid said as he sat down, his paunch jutting outward forcing his body to slump awkwardly.

" Don't get too comfortable Sid. I'm not carrying you tomorrow." Diego replied as he stretched his front paws out again. He laid his head down on his paws and closed his eyes, exhausted from the days walk.

"I wouldn't allow it, not with your condition." This caused the saber to open his eyes again. He looked at Manny, silently eyeing his expression as he stared back.

"It's not like I can't handle it. It's just a wound, it'll heal." In truth, Diego knew otherwise. All of them had seen it, his labored limping causing him to slow down during their travels. There were several times where Manny and Sid had to wait for him to catch up, watching as he panted out of pain. Although that part was awkward enough for him, he was thankful for their consideration.. something his pack had lacked. That alone was hard enough, but to carry Sid for several hours on uneven terrain was overdrive in his condition.. But weakness wasn't an option to a saber.

"You guys make it sound like I'm cargo." Sid said.

Both Manny and Diego eyed him.

".. What?"

"Clueless as ever." Diego remarked.

"You expected differently?" Manny inquired sarcastically.

Diego shrugged, "Perhaps."

"Yea, whatever. Go ahead, just pick on me." Sid remarked, scratching his bulging belly lightly. He yawned, letting loose a small grunt as he rolled over on to his side. Within minutes he was out and began to snore.

Manny stared at Diego, watching as his eyes reflected the tiny flames. The past few days had been one crazy rollercoaster for the three of them, bringing the child back to his family was no easy task and if it weren't for the sabers selfless actions.. They never would've made it. His eyes trailed the three scars along his flank. In his mind, Manny inferred that out of all of them..

Diego's rollercoaster had been the most shocking.

"What's on your mind?" Manny quickly came back to reality, finding the saber eyeing him as well.

He sighed, "Thanks again for what you did."

"I told you," Diego replied, "That's what you do in a herd." The words rang true throughout the emptiness of the camp.

Manny nodded approvingly. "How are you holding up? You know, with this 'we're a herd now' stuff?"

Diego shrugged a bit, "I'll get used to it. It's a good change. In my pack we only cared about three things: food, mating, and ourselves. If one of us falls behind.. Well, it wasn't like the rest would stop to carry you.." He said with an almost saddened tone.

".. No one would lay down their life for you either.." He continued. Diego let out a small yawn, exposing his razor sharp teeth.

"Well, I'm glad you did it, it means a lot-" Manny stopped, interrupted by a loud snore coming from Sid.

"To both of us."

Diego smiled faintly, thankful for the appreciation of his actions.

"Look, I'm gonna get some shut eye, I'm pretty exhausted."

"Yea.. I think I'm gonna sleep too." Manny said as he closed his eyes. Diego took one last look at the two, and after one last sigh lay his head down onto his paws again, closing them to fall into a deep slumber..

* * *

Sid continued to snore, a reminder to.. Pretty much everyone that he was asleep. He turned after a pebble had poked at his ribs. He muttered something inaudibly, and was jolted awake suddenly by a loud growl.

He looked around the campsite. Everyone was still sleeping, and yet the growl sounded like it came from somewhere nearby..

Sid let out a small, quiet yelp at the sounds, which echoed among the trees. Raising out of his spot, he brushed himself off and walked towards Diego, who was on his side. Another small growl had escaped him, to which the sloth had been relieved to find out he was just dreaming, though the question of what it was he was dreaming about poked about Sid's head.

"N..n-no" Diego moaned, turning in his sleep.

"Diego?" Sid said walking up to the slumbering saber.

A sharp breath escaped him, causing Sid to jump back a bit. Sid had never seen his friend in such a state, and figured he was having a nightmare.

Diego started kicking his leg aimlessly at the air, giving the hint the he was running in his dream. They were quickly followed by quick, sporadic moans that cut the silence like a sharp knife.

"S-So-"

"Sid, he's having a nightmare. If you wake him it'll be the last thing you do." Manny said walking up to him.

"S-So-"

"So what do we do?" Sid asked.

Manny was wondering the same thing. This was the first time they had ever seen Diego having a nightmare. "Well.. You know what? Try to shake him a bit." He mused.

Sid obeyed, putting his paw on Diego's shoulder he began to shake softly. After no response he started shaking a little harder, but to no avail.

"S-Sto.."

"Move, Sid." Manny said. He placed his trunk where Sid's paw had been and shook Diego harder, though not rigorously. After a few seconds he was astonished by the response. Diego had actually started to growl threateningly, though whether or not it was directed towards him was unclear.

"Diego, wake up."

"I'm-"

"Hey Uber Tracker! Come on, you're having a nightmare!"

Diego squirmed and shot up in a screaming fit. He swiped his paws around, causing Sid to stumble and Manny to retract his trunk after one of his claws struck it. He roared in a seemingly hyperalert state at nothing.

"Hey!' Manny exclaimed. He grabbed a hold of Sid and drew him close in defense of the random fit of aggressiveness. Diego was frozen in place, detached from everything and completely unaware of his surroundings. He slowly sat down on his haunches subconsciously, staring into space.

" I'm sorry... I'm sorry.. " The words came out in hoarse whispers, aimed at nothing but the ground. His glassy, colorless eyes were glued, never once allowing his companions to look upon their frightened form. He seemed shocked.. Was it fair to use the word _traumatized?_ At this point Manny thought that very same thing.

"I'm sorry.."

"Manny... Can't breathe..." Sid gasped for air as he squirmed free of the constricting grip Manny had and slowly made his advance upon the disturbed saber. His words devolved into coarse, heavy breaths. Sid quickly came to the conclusion that, despite his many threats against it that such a dramatic response to the nightmare might be within the purview of his presence.. In an attempt to comfort his friend of course.

"... Diego?" Sid lightly put one of his dull claws to Diego's chin and began to raise it. One good thing about Sid was how solicitous he was about other people's well being, this was one thing neither of them disagreed upon.

For a millisecond, Sid witnessed a stir of the slightest kind within the unmoving eyes. Their glossy, fearful state remained, but they looked upon the sloth. After recognizing that it was indeed him a slight exhalation came out of the frozen block of muscle and fur. He stared, not daring to moving a single inch.

"Are you okay?" Sid asked. Before he could ask again however, Diego pulled a move he didn't think possible..

He pulled the sloth in, bringing him into a tight embrace. It was one which seemed to be intent on not letting go, though not as tight as Manny's suffocating grip. Bemused by the action Sid was left wondering how to react, but just let it go and wrapped a single arm around him. The mere fact that Diego willing pull such a move was a testament to the severity of the situation.

Manny was speechless.

"I'm sorry.." The words were spoken succinctly and with an unsettling rasp at the end of each repetition. Sid could feel his friend continue to quake periodically, though the intensity seemed to have ebbed down to a shake.

"Come on Diego, snap out of it.."

"Diego." Manny followed bluntly. Within seconds of his calling, the saber's eyes glowed in the night, coming back to their original amber color. He released Sid, keeping his eyes on the mammoth just a few feet away.

"What happened?" The mammoth asked. But despite his awareness showing signs of recuperating, he didn't speak.

"Sid, can you go get some more firewood? I think we're going to be up for a while."

Sid slowly walked away, waddling towards the forest. He knew that Manny was going to try to talk to Diego about what had happened, and although he felt he should be there it was probably best for him to do this. After all, even Sid knew he didn't have a good rep with this kind of stuff.

"Don't go in those woods alone you idiot!" The words came right out of Diego in quick, panicked succession.

"Why? What's in the forest Diego?" Manny questioned, but Diego wouldn't respond.

"Sid, just go. You'll be fine."

He did.

Manny once again eyed the still disgruntled saber. He was breathing deeply, obviously still shocked about his night terror. Whatever it was... For it to be able to frighten a saber into a state of shock so severe was.. Well, it must've been less then good.

"What did you see Diego?"

After a while of silence, the two of them heard the dull footsteps of Sid approaching them. Diego took in a deep breath. He dropped a pile of sticks and twigs by the fire and sat down.

"I saw him.."

"Saw who?" Sid asked.

Diego glanced over at the sloth, fear present in his face and eyes. It wasn't hard to see that there was an overwhelming internal conflict bearing down upon the saber. It was.. Startling to say the least, the way Diego's could be seen to be so.. Vulnerable.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Manny questioned softly. His question, although innocent was doubted by both him and Sid. Knowing Diego as long as they did it wasn't hard to realize that he wasn't one to talk about much. Sid successfully started another fire, giving it a quick smirk, impressed with how fast he's getting. He sat down on a tree stump a couple feet away from it and watched the flames grow.

"I uh..I had a nightmare.." Diego spoke softly. His tone suggested shame, as though his moment of weakness had ended his reputation of being a tough guy.

"I'll say, you kept tossing in your sleep... And growling as well. Some hunt gone bad?" Sid asked.

Diego sighed in frustration and laid down, keeping his eyes to the ground as he did so.

"Diego. What was it that you saw? You said you saw someone.. Who was it?" Manny's low voice took control, if Diego didn't know him any better it would have sounded like he was commanding him to talk.

 _Persistent... I'll give you that._ He sighed again, and looked at his friends. "Can we not do this? It was just a nightmare."

"One that was enough to freeze you in place." Sid replied. Diego growled at him, but at this particular moment, the sloth didn't seem frightened. He just kept looking..staring at him with those eyes. Innocence and concern projected out of them, Sid was genuinely focused on figuring out what was so frightening about the nightmare.

"You guys-"

"You know, it'll eat at you to keep it locked up. The last thing you need is something like that stuck in your head, especially since it's been a couple days since you've eaten." Manny interjected. He hated it when a Manny did that.. And the worst part was that he was right.

Diego weighed his options. It would be optimal for him to just avoid this altogether and go back to sleep.. But then again it truly wouldn't be beneficial for it to be on his mind for the rest of the migration being in an already mentally AND physically exhausted state..

"Soto." _Can't go back now..._

Silence became of the camp. Just the mere mention of the name seemed to silence the world as if everything knew of the events that took place, and of the outcome. Now more than ever it occurred to Diego that this was one of those times he should've kept his mouth shut. He regretted the decision immediately, wondering why it was the two couldn't leave him be, why he couldn't just go back to sleep.

"Look, I'm fine it was-"

"It might help to talk it out, that's what I would do with my family when I was a kid."

"And look at where that got you." Diego retorted coldly.

"Jeez, just trying to help.."

"Do us a favor.. Don't."

"Why me? Why go after me?" Sid asked, fed up with the comments.

"Enough you two."

"This is ridiculous. Why do I need to talk about a dream?" Diego asked sternly.

"Because if you don't it'll well up inside and rip you apart, we don't want to see you like that." Both Manny and Diego looked over at Sid, surprised that something so profound could come out of the clumsy sloth. Diego especially was shocked, and struggled to find a response acceptable to such a statement.

"I know what it's like to feel vulnerable."

"We know, Sid."

"Then you should know that it's okay to feel that way. It's natural."

 _"_ Not for a saber." He growled.

"Spare us the tough guy act. Just tell us what happened." Said Manny.

"Fine." Diego sighed begrudgingly, this was either going to be a good thing.. Or an embarrassing mistake.

"It started out pretty normal. We were sitting at this very spot just talking. At some point we all went to sleep, until I was woken up by a sound. It came from over there." He pointed towards the forest where Sid entered to gather wood.

"My first thought was it could've been one of you.. But that wasn't the case. Both of you were sound asleep. So I went to investigate."

"You went into the forest to investigate a sound that could've come from anything?" Sid interjected.

"Do you want to hear this or not?" Diego waited for some snide response to come out of one of them... But it didn't.

"It was dark, but not pitch black. It was so real.. Like I could feel the ground.. It was damp and chilly. The smell of the water... The sound of the wind swaying slightly.. Anyway, after a couple minutes, I decided to head back. Before I could though.. I heard a growl, coming from ahead of me."

Manny and Sid sat silently, attentive to the story being told to them. For it being the first time they've done this it seemed to be going well. The silence encouraged their friend to go on, and go on he did.

"..I came to a small clearing, where I saw this being laying down on its side. At first I couldn't tell what it was, but I assumed it was a saber. It was large, had a creamy orange colored pelt, but it wasn't moving. At least, not until.."

" _Hell, traitor."_

The words sent a chill down Diego's spine. His fur stood up on end at the thought of it. The words, they bounced around, echoing throughout his head mindlessly. He shook his head slightly, but couldn't clear himself of them. They were stuck. Like ticks and leeches they attached themselves in an insatiable lust and wouldn't let go, considerably torturing his mind.

"Diego?" Manny quietly called to him, noticing the trance he had gone under. The saber had once again frozen in place, blindly staring at nothing. Upon hearing his name Diego sprung back to life.

 _"S-Soto.."_

"It seems so ridiculous.. I knew he wasn't real.. I did.. But my mind..I could SMELL him, that's why I thought it was real. He jumped, I dodged and he just ran off."

He looked over at Sid who nodded expectantly. "Go on." He said.

"Towards you two. I chased him, ran as fast as I could, but somehow he was always one step ahead of me. We kept getting closer, and closer, and I knew it was only a matter of time before we charged through the camp.. And right as we did I pounced him."

"So you stopped him?"

Diego's expression turned grim. A frown formed across his face. "No."

"What happened?" Sid asked again.

"He.. Disappeared. Instead of landing on him, I hit the dirt. Only it wasn't just dirt..." He lifted up his paw. A phantom sensation of stickiness had invaded his mind, and he shuddered internally at the thought of the images of the blood sticking to his pads.

"There was so much blood..." He said hoarsely.

"You were both dead. Your throats were cut and torn into." He had forced it out, knowing if he waited much longer he wouldn't have been able to get it out. He broke eye contact again, dropping his eyes to the ground, reluctant of his decision to explain.

" _I'm sorry.."_

Sid threw a small log on the fire, causing several pops and cracks to sound out among the dead silence.

"How do you feel?" Manny queried.

"Oh I'm supposed to talk about my feelings now?" Diego responded with his usual sarcasm, hiding all sense of fear for a moment. Manny wasn't as humored by the remark though, clearly shown by the furrowed brow on his head.

He was serious.

"Relieved." Diego averted his gaze from the mammoth as he so woefully spoke. He felt like he was going to die from embarrassment. Sabers don't talk about this stuff.. To show yourself as anything but a fearless killing machine was an act of weakness, one your prey would surely capitalize on.. But then again, these two weren't prey. They were his friends, his only friends.

"Those nightmares are the worst kind." All eyes turned to Sid, who was still poking at the fire.

"What makes you say that?"

"This should be good.." Said Diego.

"Well, instead of it being dream where YOU die, you dream of someone else, someone you love. And the worst part is that you have to deal with the aftereffects. The sorrow, the pain..."

"How thoughtful of you, Sid."

"Give me some credit, I can be serious when I want to be."

"We'll hold you to that." said Manny.

He looked over at the conflicted saber," What you're experiencing is completely natural, Diego. These feelings of fear- of anxiety are all normal. And unlike your pack we won't hold any of this against you."

"We're here for you, that's one of the perks of being in a herd." Sid added.

Diego sighed. "Yea, I never really had anything like this before. We never really 'talked'.. Just waited around for Soto to give the go on a hunt. When he promoted me to lieutenant, it was right after the humans killed half of our pack. The thing is.. We were in their territory."

"What were you guys doing there?" Manny asked.

"Hunting. We had come across a herd of mammoths along our travels. We were behind the herd a couple feet and we happened to spot them passing by. Soto had given us the go on the attack, and by then it was too late to stop them. The humans intervened and killed half of our numbers."

"So that's why Soto wanted Pinky." Said Sid.

"Yea. He changed instantly. It was kind of scary really. He almost killed Lenny for messing up our next hunt the day after, then he wouldn't stop rambling on about getting revenge. That was when he appointed me lieutenant."

"How did Soto become alpha though?"

Diego flicked a pebble, "He was a brute, that's how. Killed off the leader and took over. I came in afterwards, but just being around the guy was enough to freak the rest of them out. No one challenged him, no one questioned him. He ruled through fear, and if you crossed him? You've seen the results." He look over at Sid. "If it weren't for you two I probably wouldn't have done it. I never really thought about it, but looking back it seemed as though he was always pretty cruel."

"So.. Wait.." Sid waved his finger in the air slightly in thought. "You were ordered to get the baby.. Manny do you remember?"

"The girl that dropped off Pinky? What about her?

"Yea... That was me.." Diego sullenly replied. "Look, can we not talk about this? It's not exactly something I'm proud of."

"The baby is safe. You redeemed your-"

Diego shook his head, "It's not about that. I mean.. I followed orders blindly. Going after a baby? A baby! We never hunted infant prey, so why a baby? I don't know why, but for some reason it just seems so sickening now. Soto just couldn't stop talking about it, it kind of got to me. It was so.."

"Perverse?" Manny suggested.

"I can't. I don't like to think about it. He had a twisted sense of justice, but what was I supposed to do? I nearly died trying to fight him.."

Sid got up from his spot. "I'm gonna get some more wood, guys." He brushed himself off and began to make his way towards the now mist covered woods. As he left he heard light footsteps follow behind him. Turning around he saw Diego, who was quickly gaining.

So they walked, for a couple miles Sid silently endulged himself in the quiet company of his feline friend, traveling side by side through the light colored mist swaying in moist wisps of cloud traveling up past the treetops. Any and all thoughts of guilt and regret had faded, lost in the ghostly haze.

Diego let loose a slight sigh, only for that as well to be lost. After a while they had reached the stream, where Sid kneeled down and cupped his paws to gather water. He lowered his face into his paws and washed his face.

They pressed on until they hit a clearing a few feet away, where Sid started gathering his wood. The light from the Moon cast itself in a series of strange cloudy fractals that lit up the ground in a dull light Sid circled the perimeter, picking up tiny sticks mixed with some bark and small branches.

Perhaps what perplexed Diego the most as he sat by observing the sloth wasn't the fact that Sid did this so willingly at the moment, but that he would do it alone. This wasn't like him at all. He was going to ask, but decided to leave it and relish the silence.

When Sid had gathered all he could, which resulted in half an armload of wood, he took his place by the sloths side and both began to make their way back to the camp. Mindful of his steps so as to make as little noise as possible, Diego made sure to watch out for any roots or downed branches obstructing Sid's way. Though Sid seemed to be fine in the dark, it didn't take much to realize that Diego's sight was superior. It didn't stop him however, and as Sid began to fall from a rock by the stream Diego made quick his attempt to intervene, crossing into Sid's path and stopping him from falling with his body.

Sid quickly began to pick up the pieces of wood and after a few seconds continued to walk back. When they arrived Manny was in the same spot, looking up at the streaking Milky Way. Diego made his way back to his spot and laid back down while Sid dropped the wood and sat down by the fire.

The silence, though peaceful, had been cut short. "I uh.. I'm sorry for what I put you guys through." Diego eyed the two as he said this, and was met by two puzzled mammals staring at him. Manny's expression spoke clearly; he wondered why it was that the saber continued to apologize. Over the past few months they had both made it clear to him that the past was the past, and that was it... So why wear the grudge?

"It's water under the bridge, Diego."

"Yea, it's over. We beat the pack and returned the baby." Sid added

"It's not though. I can't help but think about how close I was.. How close I really was to just killing you both. I would've stayed with the pack and become Soto's right hand. The baby would've been killed and things would have stayed the same."

"Yes, things would have stayed the same." Manny stated simply.

"But would things have been better?" Sid asked.

"Would _you_ have been better?" Manny pointed his trunk at the feline.

Diego considered both of these things.

"No," He said, finally breaking the silence. "Things would have been worse."

"It's not worth it to keep your mind on such things, I mean look at me for instance. Abandoned by my family, and now I have another."

Diego sighed. The sloth did have a point, for once.. These thoughts, these "what ifs" are nothing more than shadows. The only thing he could do with them now was let them grow, and he would if he were alone. He'd let them grow faces, let them carry themselves over his sense of morality, torturing it with mental words full of poison. He'd let them bear their weight upon him with every step back on those icy peaks. Like icicles they would freeze all sense of freedom, and given time become reality. The thought of what could have been gave him chills, and with another sigh purged them from his mind.

But he won't, for Diego knows he isn't alone. With this in mind his face warmed, giving way through all of the doubt for a smile to creep across his face.

"You're right, Sid." He responded lightly.

Sid smiled, proud that his words had actually hit something resembling importance. His smiled quickly turned into a yawn, and after feeding the fire a couple of sticks decided that it was time to go back to sleep. "Goodnight you guys, we have a busy day tomorrow."

"That we do, buddy." Said Diego.

"Goodnight Sid." Manny replied. He let loose a yawn of his own and let droop his eyes, slowly giving himself to whatever slumber the night had left.

Left on his own was Diego. The saber glanced at both animals now slumbering in the dwindling light. Once before had he been awake by himself amongst these two, and once before had he thought of how many ways he could quickly do away with them. How easy it would have been to just cut and leave, letting things be as they may.

 _Life is funny,_ he thought to himself.

He didn't dream that night.

 **Just a one shot I thought of. I thought this fandom could use a bit more fluff and bonding between the trio, and decided what better setting than in between the first and second films. Reviews are appreciated!**


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